But starting this summer, D.C. can charge companies using curbside space a public space rental fee of $80,000 a year or more. Pete Pantuso, head of the American Bus Association, says that this fee will be passed along to the riders in the form of higher prices. And he says D.C. is using a booming local industry as an ATM."

19 Comments:

The curbside will be a revenue generator for cities. Buses, cabs, ice cream vendors, mobile restuarants, souvenier merchants, sightseeing jitneys, etc. will all be subject to fees. Those that get pushed from the curb, will be the ones who can't pass on the increased costs to customers.

Nice comment Angie. It will be interesting to see what might emerge. I imagine there are some private lots out there that could manage to provide pick up space for smaller fees or better foot traffic. Too bad it has to go that way though.

DC won't see a dime of those fees unless they also make it illegal for buses to use private parking lots to load passengers. Of course, some of that will still go to DC in the form of income taxes on the fees charged by the parking lots.